19 Jan 2007

Motion of no confidence in new French Polynesia government fails

7:03 pm on 19 January 2007

In French Polynesia, a motion of no confidence in the new government of President Gaston Tong Sang has failed due to a lack of quorum.

Only 26 opposition MPs turned up to vote in parliament, three short of the minimum needed to pass the motion.

This comes only a month after a censure motion toppled the government of Oscar Temaru.

The publisher of the Tahiti Pacifique monthly, Alex du Prel, says Mr Temaru, has vowed to propose a vote of no confidence at every session of the assembly, a process which takes three days.

Meanwhile, he says Mr Temaru's party appears to have lost credibility with the public.

"Everybody is really getting tired, having an overdose of all these political play that don't really help the country, and just keep delaying decisions that should be taken in this very fast changing world."

Alex du Prel